Gunman in Texas Wrote of ‘Inspirational’ Snipers and of Buying a Gun

Relatives and friends of Brian Bachmann, a county constable, arriving for a vigil at a church on Monday in College Station, Tex. Mr. Bachmann, 41, was killed while serving an eviction notice.Credit
Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle, via Associated Press

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. — On his Facebook page, Thomas Caffall posted a list of “inspirational people.” One was Carlos Hathcock, one of the most famous snipers in the United States Marine Corps who recorded 93 confirmed kills during the Vietnam War. Another was Vasily Zaytsev, a Russian sniper during World War II who was known for his skills with the Mosin-Nagant rifle.

On Monday afternoon, Mr. Caffall, 35, became a deadly sniper himself, shooting law enforcement officers and innocent bystanders in a quiet neighborhood near Texas A&M University where he rented a home.

The authorities said Mr. Caffall killed a local constable who was serving him with an eviction notice and a 51-year-old man. Four other people were wounded, three College Station police officers and a 51-year-old woman, before Mr. Caffall was shot and killed by the police.

Unlike other police standoffs that end with a brief burst of violence, Mr. Caffall exchanged gunfire with officers for about 30 minutes, terrorizing a residential area that is home to many students. Police officials said on Tuesday that it was too early in their investigation to determine Mr. Caffall’s motive.

A few minutes after noon on Monday, the Brazos County constable, Brian Bachmann, went to the house on Fidelity Street where Mr. Caffall lived to serve him the eviction notice, a routine part of a constable’s duties. Mr. Caffall owed his landlord $1,250, two months’ rent, but was not being forced out that afternoon. The eviction notice was to alert him that a hearing on his case would be held next week, the authorities said.

Mr. Caffall shot the constable, who was armed and wearing a bulletproof vest, in the front yard of the home, the authorities said, and neighbors called 911 upon hearing gunshots.

Photo

Thomas CaffallCredit
City of College Station, via Associated Press

Mr. Caffall began shooting at others in the neighborhood and at College Station police officers arriving at the scene, officials said. The woman who was wounded, Barbara Holdsworth of Houston, was shot while inside her car several hundred yards away and was in serious condition. The other passer-by, Chris Northcliffe of College Station, had been driving in the area and stopped to ask someone on the street what was happening when he was fatally shot while outside his vehicle, the authorities said.

Chief Jeff Capps of the College Station Police Department said the crime scene, which spanned a few blocks around the home, was still being canvassed on Tuesday. Investigators recovered several weapons that they believed were used in the attack, including rifles and a pistol, but Chief Capps declined to answer questions about how and where Mr. Caffall obtained the weapons.

Mr. Caffall did not have an extensive criminal background besides a 2006 misdemeanor charge for driving with an invalid or suspended license.

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Thomas Alton Caffall III was known as Tres by friends. On his Facebook page, Mr. Caffall posted pictures of assault rifles. In May, he posted a picture of an antique Mosin-Nagant rifle. “I just got a new toy!” Mr. Caffall wrote. “It’s a Russian Mosin Nagant that looks like it might not have been fired in 80 years, but was extremely well preserved. The two big cans above it are ammo. I’ll be at the gun range as much as I can. ... ”

Mr. Caffall’s relatives have told reporters that he was a disturbed young man who had mental problems and that he quit his job several months ago. “We’re just so sorry for this tragedy, and we feel for the families that are all involved,” said Mr. Caffall’s sister, Courtney Graham Clark, who also lives in College Station. “We’re still in shock.”

Ms. Clark declined to discuss her brother’s mental state. On his Facebook page, Mr. Caffall listed his relationship status as divorced and his religious views as Christian, writing: “God loves us all. We are all capable of redemption, if we are willing to change.”

Mr. Bachmann, 41, was a husband and father of two. A former sheriff’s deputy, he was well known among county law enforcement officers, many of whom expected him to one day become the sheriff. He was serving his first four-year elected term as a constable after assuming office in January last year.

“This should have been a plain and easy thing,” said Michael P. McCleary, the county justice of the peace who worked alongside Mr. Bachmann in Precinct 1 and would have presided over Mr. Caffall’s eviction case. “Our guys serve papers every day. Stuff like this, you don’t want it happening anywhere, but when it happens close to home, it’s tough.”

A version of this article appears in print on August 15, 2012, on Page A11 of the New York edition with the headline: Gunman in Texas Wrote of ‘Inspirational’ Snipers and of Buying a Gun. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe